Four Gate Batch 19 The Kelvin Collaboration IIII

Shocked we don't have more reviews here. Ok lets see Nose - OK right off the bat, wonderful nose. Huge red fruits, rich sweetness, and the rye is starting to give me a mitchters barrel proof rye with those red fruits with some spice coming through. Then I get this rough oak element from cheap bourbon...I hate this bourbon note. This was the same crap bourbon they used I think with Old Sherry Pike. But god that's the ONLY flaw here. Very Christmas forward overall. But god that chestnut oak thing. Ok lets get into the taste. Taste - I'm now getting a bit of that Four Gate spicy stave thing they do, not my favorite note, but this works well. OK, so thank goodness the rich spicy rye is hiding the unruly bourbon. The port and the rye have really come into harmony and give off this mix of Christmas meets sweet port...I keep looking for sherry (not used) to give me chocolate? Then I get some caramel that seems to be bourbon driven. Overall - it's big, bold, full bodied, has what i like from some sherry, has off notes. Water makes the nose better, but brings out more of that just too young bourbon. Oh man, this is hard one to score. Great overall experience. As flaws. As some youth that hurts it. The rum is likely part of the rye notes I keep coming to but I don't know rum well enough to tell where the start and end. The port is pretty good but not over done. It's honestly a balanced whisky despite the extreme everything, rye and rum and port with bourbon....this shouldn't be so well blended. OK 3.25, maybe over rating it given the price but all good for me. Happy with this bottle. I wouldn't get a back up.